In honor of Black History Month, poet Vievee Francis remembered Marvin Gaye with two poems. MARVIN GAYE: MERCY Take Marvin Gaye. His father had no mercy. Paranoia does that. Mercy is spat like spinach between the teeth. It slips out in a pee stream. Those without, never had it or lost it by adulthood. A […]
While it’s been a challenge for bands to collaborate in person over the last year, archival releases have been booming. And over the course of this first quarter, lots of goodies have dropped. Here are some of the most worthy entries in the reissue world. Black SabbathVol. 4 Deluxe Edition (Rhino)Heaven and Hell Deluxe Edition […]
This film will do much to educate those unaware of the immense talent that bubbled out of Nashville, and then Texas, in the ‘70s. The documentary, Without Getting Killed or Caught, tells the story of three immensely talented and interconnected artists: Guy Clark, his best friend Townes Van Zandt and Susanna Clark, who loved them […]
I told them it was in New Jersey. “Just a train ride away,” I said, which was a lie but, after spending an hour hitting “refresh” to get tickets, I couldn’t risk telling my friends where the concert really was. To be fair, Atlantic City is much farther from Manhattan than I thought. It wasn’t […]
Cleveland’s Coventry Village, a neighborhood lined with vintage shops, restaurants and bars was once the hippest area in the city. Located in leafy Cleveland Heights on the city’s east side, the once-bustling area has been quiet since the pandemic hit. Few more so than one of the area’s few constants: independent music venue The Grog Shop. Nestled […]
As Patrick Hallahan calls up SPIN, the My Morning Jacket drummer is gearing up for a full-blown blizzard — 12 to 18 inches of snow are expected in his current home of Louisville, Kentucky within 24 hours. And where many Americans would devolve into a panic after a day without takeout, this dude’s prepared — with […]
Thelonious Monk was a misfit, even inside music. The avant-garde jazz pianist had always naturally been the aberrant one, the outsider – an intrinsic aspect of himself reflected through his unorthodox playing in the already virtually boundless space of improvisatory jazz. It was that which didn’t exactly marginalize him but distinguish him as a sui […]
Frank Ocean may be one of the most popular musical acts of the 21st century, but back in 2010, the California-based, New Orleans-bred artist (formerly known as Christopher Breaux) was just getting his feet wet as a member of the hip-hop collective Odd Future, led by fellow future Grammy winner Tyler, the Creator. Ocean came […]
It’s a story you’re burning to tell. A story of new love and devastating heartbreak, fresh beginnings and super-sad endings, feeling alone—and then knowing all your pals will celebrate your shared cauldron of delectable song stew you’ve labored over for hours—weeks, even—to get just the right flavor, order and mix-tape special sauce. All it took […]
Over the last decade, Britney Spears’ supernatural pop star status became overthrown by the haunting shadow of her conservatorship. Established in 2008, following messy custody battles and an involuntary psychiatric hold, the artist’s estate and finances were placed in the hands of her father Jamie Spears and attorney Andrew Wallet. In recent years, the topic […]